Through The Stages
by LOTRRanger
Summary: Friends are there for you, even if you're PMSing. Best friends will tell you they love you, as a friend. And then Nate lets it slip. Prequel/sequel to The Kidnapping of Kennedy.


_Authors Note: As requested by _Con-Nike, _this is the prequel to **The Kidnapping of Kennedy**. I hope you enjoy!_

Through The Stages

I took deep breaths, ones that were supposed to calm my nerves, before resuming my incessant pacing. When I'm nervous, I pace. And I was extremely nervous. Every bride is, really, on their wedding day. But I think I may have more reason than most brides to be nervous; I'm marrying into a life of glamor and glitz, not to mention fickle celebrities. Yep, you got it. I'm marrying a celebrity, who also happens to be the man I love with all of my heart, Nate Gray of Connect 3. I smiled, remembering when we first met. I was lucky Nate even wanted to _talk_ to me, much less marry me after _that_.

_Three years ago...._

I sat down by the lake and popped the Motrin into my mouth after a swig of Gatorade. I. Hate. Cramps. I, Caelan Kennedy, officially loathe cramps. I gazed out over Lake Rock, eagerly awaiting the moment when the Motrin took effect. I loved everything about Camp Rock, but especially the lake. It usually comforts me, makes me feel calm, but not today. I feel like kicking something, anything, into next week. I just wanted to be left alone. Oh, the wonders of the menstrual cycle. Please note the sarcasm.

"Do you mind if I join you?" a voice asked. I glared up at the newcomer, Nate Gray. He was in a few of my classes. He seemed nice enough, though he never talked much. I simply glared up at him, willing him to go away. Unfortunately, he seemed to take my stare to mean that I needed to talk about whatever was bothering me, as he sat down anyway. Come on. How in the world can you misinterpret a glare?

"You look upset." Nate stated matter-of-factly. A bright one, he is. Again, please not the sarcasm. I didn't reply and maintained my stare. He still wasn't taking a hint. "What's bothering you?" I had planned on giving him the silent treatment, but this....this presented a very interesting situation. I wonder what he would do if I actually told him......

"You don't want to know." I said finally. Nate blinked, surprised.

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked. I really _do_ want to know." Nate replied. I pursed my lips. Why must his beautiful brown eyes look so adorable when he's concerned!? I've always had a thing for brown eyes like his. This is not fair. I shook my head.

"You don't want to know." I responded. Nate raised an eyebrow. His look said it all. "Fine. I'll tell you." Nate leaned forward slightly. "I'm cramping, I feel like I was run over by a bulldozer, courtesy of five dance classes in a row, and I feel like kicking something for no reason." Nate's look was priceless.

"Oh." was all Nate could manage.

"Would you like more details, or was that enough to satisfy your curiosity." I asked, smiling slightly. The Motrin was finally staring to take effect.

"N..no! T..That's perfectly all right!" Nate said, shaking his head vehemently. You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat. Or the cute guy with curly hair, as the case may be. Nate took a deep breath. "Remind me to listen to you next time."

"Oh, I don't know." I replied lightly. "I rather enjoyed your facial expressions!" Nate grimaced.

"Glad I could make you feel better." Nate mumbled. "But honestly, Caelan, couldn't you have given me a little bit more explicit warning?" I shrugged.

"Maybe. But I wasn't feeling very generous at the time." I said. Maybe I should talk to Nate more; he makes me feel....special. I am definitely going to talk to him more.

_Present time..._

I took a few more deep breaths. I've always wondered why Nate talked to me that day. Mental note: ask Nate that later. After that, Nate and I had become fast friends. He had introduced me to his brothers Shane and Jason. Both were incredibly sweet. Well, Jason was. Shane....Shane was more like....him. There's really no good word to describe Shane Gray. He's just him.

"Ten minutes, Caelan." Mitchie said, popping her head in the doorway. She was my maid of honor. I firmly believe that Mitchie is an angel. After all, she was the only one who managed to get Shane back on track after his 'Diva Days', as I called them.

I remembered one of the many times Nate and I discussed Shane's changing behavior while he was away. At the time, Nate and I were still just friends, albeit very good ones. I learned later that Jason and my sister Caelie had placed bets on when Nate and I would become an item. Funnily enough, Shane was the one who was the one who correctly guessed when Nate would ask me out. I smiled. That was certainly an interesting conversation.

_Two years ago..._

Nate and I sat cross legged on my back porch. "He _actually_ said that he thought that recording a song with the winner of Final Jam was a good idea!" Nate said. I stared at him.

"Has he been getting too much sun?" I asked. Nate laughed.

"That's exactly what I asked him, but Shane said he was fine." Nate replied, shaking his head. "I don't know what's going on at Camp Rock to change Shane so fast, but whatever it is, I'm not complaining."

"Maybe he's met a girl who's not afraid to tell him what she thinks of his attitude." I suggested with a cock of my head. Nate shrugged. But she would have to be one special girl. If there is a girl, she's definitely a keeper. Shane had better not let her out of his sight.

"Somehow I doubt it." Nate replied. Maybe he was right. But then maybe he's not. We fell into companionable silence. I looked up at the sky.

"You know, the sky wouldn't look very pretty if it was purple." I announced. Nate stared at me.

"Where did _that_ come from?" Nate asked, eyebrows raised. What can I say? I'd had caffeine! It's not _my_ fault!

"I had caffeine." I told him. Nate laughed.

"Wow." I smiled. "You know, you are totally random when you're on caffeine." My smile grew.

"But you love me!" I replied, laughing. Nate's eyes grew big, paling slightly. Hmmm...well this was certainly interesting.

"W..what!" Nate stammered. I placed my hand over my heart and leaned back in mock hurt.

"I'm hurt, Nate! I thought you loved me! Woe is me!" I exclaimed. Nate's eyes only grew larger. Come on, Nate. You're supposed to play along.

"I..um...h..how d...did you find out?" Nate asked quietly. Hmm... that's not exactly the way I was going with this, but I'll roll with it.

"Oh, it was simple really. The way you look at me, all those romantic songs you've been writing, the fact that you seem to dress nicer all of a sudden.....things like that." I replied lightly. Man, I don't think Nate's eyes can get any bigger. If his face freezes like this, I'm going to be calling him 'Bugsy'.

"But Jason said I was being discreet!" Nate exclaimed. I blinked. "Well, it serves me right, taking Jason's word for it. I should have asked Caelie. Oooo...not a good idea either. She's almost as bad as Jason. Ugh. This wasn't supposed to happen!" Uh........

"Uh, Nate..... What are you talking about? I was just kidding." I said, blinking. Nate looked taken aback. He bit his lower lip.

"Oh... of course you were! I...I was just playing along! Yeah!" Nate replied in what was supposed to be a light tone. But I knew Nate too well to fall for it. Something was up.

"Uh huh. Yeah, right. And I'm the queen of England. _What_ were you going on about?" I asked.

Nate took a deep breath. "I love you Cae."

I was confused. Hadn't we just established that? Of course he loves me, we're really good friends. "I know Nate, you've always said we're the best of friends."

Nate shook his head, "No Caelan I really love you. Like a man loves a woman. Like Mr. Bingley loves Jane. Like Mr. Darcy loves Elizabeth. Like Col. Brandon loves Marianne."

I stared at Nate. Nate Gray loves me? The Nathan Gray- my best friend, who spends way too much time worrying about the business aspects of the band. Seriously it was almost as bad as the day Shane got on a rant about which brand of mousse was better for his hair. He was a bit put out when I informed him that if he said one more word about mousse that I couldn't eat, I'd throw his straightener in the nearest dumpster. And Nate actually used examples from Jane Austen?! Wow! Usually whenever I start talking about her, I just get this glazed over look in his eyes! But back to the topic at hand, Nate loves me- do I love him? Yeah that's the 67,000 dollar question.

"I love you too Nate. You forgot Captain Wentworth though." I swear Nate stopped breathing. "Nate..Breathe!" I slapped him hard on the back. There we go! He's breathing again!

"Whew! That's certainly a relief!" Nate replied, grinning like an idiot. But that's okay 'cause he's my idiot. Wow. How cliché was that? "How about we talk over dinner?" Nate asked. I smiled.

"That sounds wonderful." I responded. I didn't think life could get any better.

_Present time..._

Well, I was wrong. Life could get better, and get better it did. Here I am, three years later, about to become Mrs. Nate Gray. There are only a few more minutes. I thought back to the day when Nate proposed. I remembered how I didn't want to get out of bed that morning. I remembered how glad I was that Nate forced me out. I think we're both glad.

Dad popped his head in the door. There were tears in his eyes. "Ready, honey?" He asked, his voice thick with emotion. I smiled and nodded. It was time.


End file.
